District Four
by district4xX
Summary: What if Katniss and Peeta were not in the 74th Hunger Games? What if Cato falls in love with the girl tribute from District Four? There will be violence and lots of love. Stay tuned. This is my first story so please go easy on me.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Payson Seas. As I opened my eyes I see my room, bare and plain. I live in my one story apartment with my mother. My father died in a horrible accident three years ago when he was working at the docks. He drowned to death. It was horrible; I don't like to think about it. My mother is never around anymore. She can no longer bear to look at me, not since he died. You see I have his eyes and share the same brunette hair. I stand a threatening five-five. I have an athletic build, but am still kind of skinny. I get it from all the training at the docks. I work there to help my mother with bills. Without my father around, my mother's income is no longer enough to survive on. I work there under the supervision of my father's old boss, Marty. Marty is a good guy. He makes sure I get easier jobs, but accepts nothing less than perfection from me in those jobs. I do my best. The other workers know not to mess with me because I am under the protection of Marty.

Today I roll out of bed and stare at my work dock. It looks like a barren wasteland out in District Four today. You see today is the day of the Reaping for the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games. For those who do not know, the Hunger Games are a sick twisted game that Capitol produces every year. As punishment for a rebellion, that happened 73 years ago, against the Capitol in which the 13th district was destroyed, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected by annual lottery to participate in the Hunger Games. This is an event in which the tributes must fight in an outdoor arena controlled by the Capitol, until only one individual remains victor. It is aired all throughout the districts. Each tribute is trained for weeks prior to being picked as a tribute before they enter the arena. You see, Capitol wants to put on a good show. People are allowed to sponsor tributes, if they have the money. As the Hunger Games drag on, the gifts the sponsors have to pay for become increasing more expensive. The lone victor returns home and receives riches and allowed to live in Victor's Village. Like I said, it's disgusting that people want the districts kids fight to the death because they are bored with the boring filthy rich lives.

I put on my "best cloths" for the stupid reaping. I file in and see all the 12 years olds crying and shaking in fear. They are all so lucky their names are only in their once. You see, my name is in the reaping 29 times and I am only 15. My names really should only be in there 4 times. Each year your name is entered once for your birthday, great gift right? Not! Other ways to get your name added to the reaping is by signing up for food portions. You do not understand how bad my mother was in when my father died. I had to sign up for food. It hurts to sign the paper for the food, signing away more name cards into the reaping.

I walk over to the 15 year old female section. I stand in the first row of girls at the left end of the row. I turn to look at the other kids of my district. I barely know any of them. I keep a straight face as the peacemakers drop by each section signaling that everyone is signed in. No one dares to not show up. The peacemakers would kill you in the square as a public display not to ignore the rules of the Capitol. Stupid Capitol, how I loathe you. I see Districts Capitol representative, Hazel something, walk out. She walks up in her stupid colorful outfit and smiles. "Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor". I hold my straight face. How I hate her voice and how she enjoys watching us all suffer. We watch the standard video produced about the Games that Capitol made. They are trying to sell us that these Games are needed to keep the peace. Yeah okay, how about we stop killing everyone off? How is killing us going to create peace?

I hear Hazel speak again and I look up at her. "Okay as tradition, ladies first." She makes a dramatic move toward the girls reaping bowl. She waves her hand over the bowl. She is searching for that poor unfortunate soul that is going to lose their life most likely. I mean the odds are stacked against most tributes. District Four usually lasts a decent amount of the Games, but die near the end. You see, we often get asked to be a part of the Careers. This is an alliance between Districts one, two, and four. Then, it usually ends up being a blood bath of these final three Districts turning on each other.

She finally picks a stupid card. I wait anxiously. "O this is so exciting" Hazel says. She slowly opens the card and smiles a wicked smile. "Amber Seering" I immediately hear screaming from the 12 year old section. A peacemaker grabs the screaming 12 year old. I recognize her; I work with her father down at the docks. I see that she her small blond hair falling from her up-do. Tears are streaming from her eyes like waterfalls crashing down on rocks. I make a quick and rash decision within seconds. Amber is young and has zero chance of survival in these vicious games. She would not make it past the Cornucopia. I step out of line and push the peacemakers aside. "I volunteer!" The entire meeting area goes silent except the still small sobs from Amber. Everyone states at me. I speak up in a harsh voice, making sure to keep a straight face. "I volunteer as tribute". I walk up and I have Amber embrace me. "Don't do it Payson. It's suicide." She is crying. I hug her lightly keeping my eyes locked on the stage. "It is okay Amber, you are young and I am not. I can handle myself. Go find your mom and dad okay?" I release her and walk toward the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our female tribute, now young lady what is your name?" Hazel asks smiling at me. "I turn and face the crowd. "Payson Seas" I say with confidence. "Okay let's have a hand for Miss Seas". A small applause from a few parents out back. I can hear people talking about my father and I see my mother void of all emotion. People are trying to talk to her but she keeps her eyes locked on the ground.

"Now for the Gentlemen…Jason Metz". I see Jason walk up. He is 17 years old and has brown hair. He looks confident. He smiles and raises his hands like he is the victor. We shake hands and then we are escort out. I await my few visitors. Of course Amber and her family visit me. They hug me and thank me. I hug Amber back lightly, never once smiling. I haven't smiled since my father died. The only other visitor was my mother. She kissed my lightly on the forehead and told me good luck. She walks out with the peacemakers calmly. I know she loves me deep down but has a hard time showing it. We both do not show emotion much anymore.

I am escorted on the train and sit next to Jason and Hazel. I then see Finnick walk in. "Hello, I am Finnick your mentor" he smiles winking at me. I look at him and shoot him a disgusted look. I hate people sometimes. He talks about stupid stuff and I totally block everyone out. I leave when I am told to explore. I head to my cart and stay there until we arrive in Capitol. I was escorted off the train and past all these crazy Capitol people. I walked into the building that would be hosting the rest of the tributes and myself. We would be staying on floor four because we are District 12


	2. Chapter 2

Once we arrive in Capitol we are prepared for the Chariot Rides into Capitol. My stylists fix my hair into this horrid up-do and dress me an outfit that is made from fishing nets. How original I think as I look at myself in the mirror. I look like a trapped fish, this is the image they want for me, I am going to die because I am trapped my Capitols twisted games? That's what massage I am getting from this horrid outfit. I can tell Jason is loving it however because he thinks it shows off his muscles.

We both climbed into the chariots. I noticed the boy from District two staring at us. He is dressed up like some kind of Greek Gladiator. He was so good looking but I pushed that thought from my mind. I decided to not look at anyone else for now.

The large doors open, the carriage jerks forward as we made our way towards the entrance, the loud chants and screams making me unable to hear. I hear the crowds going wild and see the tributes soaking up the glory. I refuse to smile or acknowledge them. I keep my arms crossed over my chest and glare at President Snow who is awaiting us at the end of the runaway.

I ignore President Snow drag on and on about glory and pride and blah blah blah, before the chariot suddenly lurched back into motion, nearly tossing me off. We finally reached the room, the other chariots slowly making their way through the doors. I jump off my chariot, staring out the large doors at the chanting people. Finnick hugs me, but I refuse to hug him back. I know he is trying to help me out, but really all he is doing to preparing me to prolong my death. I go off to my chamber to sleep until tomorrow without saying a word to anyone.

Author Note:

Sorry this chapter is short. Hope you all enjoy it.


	3. Chapter 3

The first day of training was scheduled for 9 am. I totally skipped breakfast and met Jason and Finnick at the door of the training center. Jason and I walked in and saw that we were the last to enter.

I surveillance the room, as we received useless instructions for the instructors. I met the eyes of the District 2 boy, again. He is blonde and muscular. He has stunning blue eyes. I look away and look at Jason. He seems to be checking out the stations. The instructor sends us off. I head to fire building. I watch many of the other tributes keeping an eye on the boy from District 2. I feel drawn to him like a moth to a light. He is so gorgeous however I see his disarm a dummy. He is definitely someone to watch. I watch Jason as I start a fire in two minutes. The instructor smiles at me as I get to and leave and continue with survival stations. Most tributes are overlooking these stations. I know better, many will die of natural causes and not due to battle.

The bell rings for lunch I head to an empty table and I take a seat. Jason sits down next to me and slowly starts to eat in silence. However, he breaks the silence after five minutes. "The Careers asked me to join them. I am sure they will ask you too" he says eating. I look at him and he waves over the Careers. The Careers arrive and act like we have been buddies since forever ago. "What up District Four?" the girl asked me from District Two laughing. I get up and leave. I am not getting to know these people, just so they can kill me. I am not like that. "Okay whatever, you just put a target on your back" the girl from one yells at me. I sat at the end of a long table that was preoccupied with District 11 and 12. I sat five seats away from them. They were malnourished and I knew they were as good as dead. I finished my lunch in silence with them and left. I have my private training with Finnick and I found that I was horrible at spear throwing and sword fighting; hopefully I am better with a bow and arrow or knife throwing tomorrow. I left after an hour to work with Hazel for my interview.

After two hours I had no angle. I was not sexy, sweet, cute, innocent, or even likeable. I was emotionless but not ruthless. In Hazel's words "I was useless". As my team of stylist did my hair and dressed me in a simple blue dress I sat thinking about my home. I knew that I should be working on the docks right now. That Marty would be watching my every move to make sure I did not slack. I would be smelling the fresh sea air. I would occasionally feel the sea breeze and have small sprinkles of water touch my face. I even missed my mother. I knew she was probably struggling at home, but I am sure that the towns people where watching over her. I knew that the Seering family would, considering I took their daughters spot in the arena.


	4. Chapter 4

I finally was ready for the camera. As we lined up the Careers greeted Jason and ignored me. However, the boy from 2 took interest in me.

"So four, you got a name" he asked. "You know its common courtesy to give your name before asking for someone else's" I said nonchalantly as the producers pushed him back into line. I ignored all the other tributes interviews. Soon Caesar was calling my name. "She is cute, Miss Payson Seas from District Four". The audience went crazy. I have no idea why and I am not cute. I walk out to the stage and sit next to Caesar refusing to shake his hand. I know it's not his fault but I refuse to play the Capitols game.

Caesar sits down and looks at the crowd and laughs. "Well, Miss Seas…"

"Payson" I interrupt him. "Excuse me" he asked me startled at my outburst. "My name is Payson, not Miss Seas. Got it?" I say scowling at him.

"Okay, Payson tell me what is your strategy for the Games" he asks me? I look around and see the other District tributes are watching me. "Survive" I say casually.

"Yes Payson, but by what means is what I meant" he says laughing. I look at him "It does not matter how I do it Caesar, it only matters that I do it" I say.

He looks up to the crowd. I know I am killing him because most tributes offer him some kind of angle to work with. He must think I am going with tough killer strategy. "Okay Miss S…..Payson, are you a born killer?" I looked at him and the crowd. "Stay tuned to find out" I say as the buzzer signals the end of my time. I get up and shake his hand because he blocks my path of the stage. He whispers in my ear "You realize you have the personality of a rock? You will not get sponsors that way" he says and laughs and announces my names once more to the crowd. There is barely applause as I exit. I walk past Glimmer and she laughs "Well we know who is going to die first…" I ignore her and walk up to Finnick and Hazel.

Hazel looks extremely flustered. "You know your poor attitude reflects poorly on all of us right?" she whispers in an annoyed tone. I look at Finnick then back to Hazel. "I have the personality of a rock as Caesar says, but I will be able to kill, so back off" I walk down the hall and sit on the bench awaiting the rest of the District 4 crew. I hear Finnick say to Hazel "This girl has a real chance at winning" he looks at me many times until Jason comes out. Jason insists on watching a few interviews but finally lets us leave after District 9. I know we are going to have to watch the rest of the later anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

As we prepare for training I tie my hair back and stare at my reflection. I will survive because I have survived through many things. I will win and live in Victors Village and no longer worry about food, money, or survival. I will return and work the docks like I always do.

Today's training was a group obstacle. The Gamemaker's were paying close attention to us, for now. We line up according to District. The course seems simple enough. There is a wall to climb and a dummy that you need to disarm, following by a sprint through a tunnel that shoots what looks like knifes at you. Finally is a straight shoot to the finish line. However, that final stretch seems strange to me. The Gamemaker's keep point at it and I notice a small red light. I smile knowing what it is. I wonder if any of my fellow tributes will figure it out.

Everyone in front of me got to the final stretch and run straight into the trap. Glimmer and Clove, the girls from District one and two got scratches from the knife obstacle. District two and three tried to figure out the final stretch, but were completely wrong. Glimmer laughed as I walked up to the start. What it bitch, I am gonna make you look like a fool I thought murderously in my head. I was signaled to start.

I jumped effortlessly over the wall. I just punch the head off the dummy and stop and look at the Gamemakers. They are watching still. I walk up to the knife shooting. I dodge the knives and spears, doing back flips and sliding across to safety. I look at the time, right now only District Two's boy has a better time. I walk up to the final stretch and turn back.

Glimmer laughs "Look she is scared". I pick up two knives and walk back to the final stretch. One I throw at the ground and red light blows it up. I take that as notice. I run half way through and start jumping on certain parts of the floor. This floor has many traps that will activate. What the other tributes behind me will probably not notice is that the floor tiles that are safe are about 1 centimeter above the ones that set off traps. They will know to take out the laser, but not the trap floor. I made it across and stop the timer.

I throw the other knife at a gawking Glimmer. It lands beside her head and she screams. Then, she pretends to collapse into the two boys from One and Two. The boy from her district catches her, but the boy from two seems preoccupied on me to realize her lame attempt for attention. Many peacemakers run up to me and escort me out of the room. I am satisfied knowing I am the best and knowing people are going to want me on their alliance and I also found my strength.


	6. Chapter 6

At dinner, the Careers kept glaring at me, including Jason. I guess he wanted to make sure to steer clear of me. He did not want a target on his back like I have now placed on my own back. The boy from District Two got up and sat in the seat in front of me and smiled. "Cato" he said. I looked up at him. I must have had this horrid look of confusion on my face because he started to speak again. "Last time you said it is common courtesy to give my name before I ask yours. Well I did mine is Cato, so whats your name? I definitely want you apart of the Careers. You do know you are the only one that figured out that final obstacle" he said.

I laughed. "Yeah, well that just proves that you are all too worried about winning and battling and not to basics. If you all took time to look at the ground you would have seen that many tiles were only slightly higher than most, it was subtle but it was present. You would have known that these tiles were the only safe ones to step on." I said smugly. I went to get up and he grabbed my wrist and smiled. "So do I get a name?" he asked. "I'm sure Jason has told you, plus you saw my interview" I said nodding toward the rest of the Careers staring at us.

Glimmer was furious, so much so that she placed her knife into the table.

Cato smiled at me and stepped around the table so he was directly in front of me. "Yes, but I want you to say it" I shook my wrist free and tried to walk past him but he side stepped with me. I huffed and stepped the other way refusing to look at him. Finally I just said it. "My name is Payson okay? ...Now move" I said and expected him to move out of the way so I could go back to my floor.

However, he placed his hand under my chin and forced me to look into his eyes, those sparking blue eyes. He smiled and spoke again "Well Payson Seas, I would formally like to invite you into the Careers Alliance." I was against this from the start but I decided to do it for now. I knew I would have to watch my back and not trust anyone because they would not think twice about killing me when my guard was down.

"Fine" I said. He smiled and threw his arm around my shoulder and led me to the table. He pulled a seat next to his and never removed his arm from my shoulder for the remainder of dinner. Everyone introduced themselves and Clove even talked to me. She seemed a lot nicer when Glimmer was not around. Glimmer sat in the corner and sulked. Everyone seemed excited that the only tribute to complete the course was now a part of their alliance, well except Glimmer.


	7. Chapter 7

During our next training session, I stayed with the Careers, mostly Clove. "You know, Cato sort of has a thing for you" she said pretending to stretch her arms as she watched Cato. I looked at her and then to Cato who was sword fighting. He seemed ruthless here. He was cutting every body part from the dummies. I kept looking at him. "No he does not" I said carelessly.

Clove just laughed, "are you blind or what Payson? Why do you think he asked you to be a part of the Careers?" I looked over at her. "Because I am strong" I said confidently. "Yeah there's that plus he likes you. How else do you explain Glimmer's anger and the fact that Cato keeps looking at you to make sure you are okay? Plus I am like a sister to him, I just know what he is thinking" she said walking away from me. I looked back to Cato and caught him looking at me and smiling at me. He waved me over to him. I walked over to him still thinking about what Clove said.

"So Payson" he said panting only slightly. "You a sword fighter?" he asked swinging the sword around. I shook my head no. He laughed of course. "Well are you good with hand on hand combat?" he asked throwing a punch at my head. I blocked it and pushed his hand back at him. A few peacekeepers got up but did not move. It was against the rules to fight with other tributes, but the peacekeepers did not seem to mind, at the moment.

I went to walk past him but he threw a kick this time. This was getting annoying, but I caught Glimmer and Clove's eyes. Clove was smiling at me and nodding to encourage it, and Glimmer. Well let's just say that Glimmer will be the first person to throw a knife at my back in the games.

As he threw the kick I dodged it and looked right at him. "So you wanna fight a girl" I said circling him. He laughed and threw a punch then the fight started. We actually caught the attention of all the other tributes and the Gamemakers. I matched him punch for punch and kick for kick however he was stronger and his kicks were starting to take their toll on my body, but I never let that show.

He suddenly lunged at me pick me up over his shoulder and brought me crashing down into the mat. I decided to test Clove's theory right now. I winced and let a small cry out and Cato looked at me. I kept my eyes closed and placed a pained expression on my face. Cato was by my side in seconds. "Payson, what hurts?" he asked on touching my arm and checking for injuries. I quickly opened my eyes and tossed him over to the ground and sat on his stomach. I kept both my feet on his hands so he could not move. I was panting really hard. I pulled a knife from my boot and place it on his neck. "I win" I said throwing the knife aside and got up. He jumped up beside me. The rest of the tributes went back to their own training.

"You're a good fighter Payson" he said to me. I nodded as the room started to spin. I shook it off like nothing. My breathing was still hard and coming out in pants. I staggered a bit into Cato. He stopped laughing and looked at me. He held my upper arms with his hands to steady me. He looked straight into my eyes. "Payson, whats wrong" he asked? I looked into his eyes. Clearly I was just tired. "Just little shaky and tired" I said as I pushed him off slightly. I walked to the bench to get water. I did not even notice Cato following me.

I sat down and held my head in my hands. A cup of water was placed in front of me. I pushed it away, but Cato knelt in front of me. I picked my head up and smiled slightly but looked worried. I do not know why, I was clearly fine. "You need to drink it" he said. I did and sat for a few minutes. He was right about the water; it made me feel a lot better. I told him to go back to training. He agreed only because Clove came over.

He kept looking over to check on me. I finally got back up and walked with Clove to knife throwing. I was surprised how good Clove was and how good I turned out to be. Clearly the Glimmer incident was not a fluke. Cato kept looking over still. Clove just started to giggle at one point. "He totally is worried about you. You can not honestly say he does not like you?" she said laughing. I looked at Clove. She was really a cool girl and I felt like if we were not going to have to fight to the death that we would be great friends. I just laughed at her. "Of course he does not like me. He was worried that he hurt an asset to the alliance. That is all" I said. "O my god, you really are blind." She said laughing at me.

I knew she was right. "Do you think he really cares? I said quietly taking out a dummy. She smiled and looked at me in amazement. "O my god, you like him back" she yelled! I covered her mouth and she pushed me off laughing. I scowled at her and went back to knife throwing. "I did not say that" I said to her not looking at her. She laughed and bounced around like a little kid. "But you were thinking it" she said as the bell rang to signal we were done training for the day.

Cato ran up to us and looked at me. "You're okay right" he asked. I nodded and continued to walk side by side with Clove. She kept laughing at it and I could tell I was blushing and Clove was loving it. Cato seemed to not understand because he kept asking about my health. "Cato, I'm fine really" I said laughing for the first time in a long time. He just made me feel happy again. I smiled and walked toward the café to grab some food before bed. He walked close to me and our hands brushed the other's hand a few times. We grabbed a few things and headed toward the elevator. Clove said she forgot something, but she winked at me as she ran to the stairs. She clearly wanted to give Cato and me some alone time. She was being such a matchmaker and a friend to me. This is what upset me so much. I was going to lose a girl that I now consider a friend in a matter of days. I knew she has my back and I knew I would have hers as well for as long as I could during the Games.


	8. Chapter 8

The elevator opened and Cato must have noticed my discomfort. We did not push any buttons and did not make moves to. We stood there in the elevator in complete silence. I felt tears start to form and soon they were falling. I turned to look at the wall away from Cato and crossed my arms over my chest as I leaned against the back wall of the elevator. Cato looked at me and walked in front of me. Now tears were streaming down my face.

Cato stood in front of me and gently turned my head so he could look at me. I tried to advent my eyes to the floor but he did not let me. He held his fingers under my chin and looked me in the eyes. "Look, if you were hurt, you should have told me" he said worried. I shook my head no. He still thought I was physically hurt from out fight today.

"Then why are you crying" he said smiling and using his thumbs wiping away my tears. I looked back down and felt safe telling him. "I can not lose anyone else close to me" I said as the tears picked up. A sob wracked through my body and escaped my lips. I tried to cover my mouth with my hand. However, Cato stopped my hand. "Hey, what are you talking about?" I just cried harder. This was the first time I was crying over my dad in three years and now because of Cato and Clove. I shook my head no to him.

What Cato did next surprised me. He slowly wrapped his left arm around my waist. He placed his right hand on my shoulders and I allowed him to enclose me in his arms. I just let myself cry on the boy from District two that I meet only a few days ago.

Sobbing wracked my body and I found myself hugging Cato back. My arms snaked around his back and pulled him closer, grabbing bunches of his shirt. He stood there and hugged me and made me feel safe. He was my stronghold right now and that is all that mattered in that moment. He ran his finger through my hair and spoke quietly "Payson talk to me".

I cried harder but spoke sloppy words. "My dad was killed three years ago. He was killed by Capitol. He tried to lead a rebellion, but there were not enough men. They tied all the men to an anchor and threw them into the harbor" I sobbed and felt my knees give out. Cato caught me and slowly lowered my to the elevator floor. He hugged me as I cried into his chest. "And now, we have to go into the arena and killed each other off. I can't do it Cato. Clove has become one of the only friends I have ever had and you…" I trailed off and just sobbed. I knew he wanted me to continue but just then the doors of the elevator opened.

It was Finnick. In a matter of seconds I was on my feet wiping away the tears. He smiled as he looked at Cato getting up from the floor and wiping off his shirt. I looked at the floor. "Hey Payson, heard you are quite the combat fighter and knife thrower. We will work that into our training tomorrow he said as he pressed 2 for Cato and 4 for us. Finnick hugged me from the side and I let him.

I looked over at Cato and he looked confused. He got off at his floor and turned back to us. "See you tomorrow Payson" he said waving. I nodded. As the elevator doors closed Finnick just laughed lightly. It was not a typical Finnick laugh. It was a nice soft laugh. "Who would have thought that two tributes would fall in love?" he asked. I laughed and did not even bother to argue. I knew I had feelings for Cato and was convinced that he had some sort of feelings for me and that was all that mattered for now.

Thanks for reading everyone!

Special thanks to

ToMeAwesomeIsAnUnderStateMent and HermioneandMarcus for the reviews


	9. Chapter 9

That night was a bombardment of nightmare after nightmare. I woke up screaming after the third one. Finnick sat at the edge of my bed and told Hazel to go back to her room, that he could handle it. I knew from the way he was sitting that he had been there for a while. "I heard you tossing and turning a while ago" he said. I sat up and crawled to the edge of the bed. He looked at me, "I am not stranger to nightmares" he told me. I found that I wanted to know more. I leaned up against his arm and looked out the window. He sighed and placed his arm around me. "I'll tell you my nightmare if you tell me yours" he said. I looked at him. I nodded knowing that talking about it would help me.

He started and looked in a sort of daze. "You see when I won the Hunger Games; I was a prize that everyone else wanted. I was young and knew I was good looking. I ended up being sold to Capitol people for great deals of money". He stopped and choked a bit. "You see, Capitol was selling me off for my looks and body. I was forced to ummm. Well you see Payson I was being sold for sex to people. I never saw one penny for it either. Capitol kept all the profits. I was kept prisoner for two whole years until finally I was released" he smiled at me as a tear formed. I brushed it away and sat back against him. "I am sorry Finnick. I know the Games are hard on you. Training and watching all your tributes fall, but I never knew how horrible you were treated. I wish I could do something" I said. "You can Payson, you can win and come back and live in Victors Village as my fellow winner. We can talk everyday and learn to cope with the world together." I smiled knowing that sounded nice, but then my nightmare came back to mind.

"My nightmare makes me think otherwise" I said quietly. Finnick hugged me into him. "Whenever you are ready Payson, I am here to listen" he said. I nodded and started. "I was in the arena. It was dark and I was in the forest. It was so quiet until I heard screaming. It sounded like Clove so I turned to run back to the Cornucopia. However, Marvel popped out and smiled. Apparently he and Glimmer were now taking this time to kill off me and Clove and Cato. Jason was killed two days ago because of some Glimmer's poor sense of direction. She claimed it was an accident. I did not believe her but we all let it slide"

I paused then started again after a deep breath. "Marvel lifted his sword but instead of sword ran through his body. He screamed and collapsed. It was Cato who saved me. He hugged me and kissed me and surveillance the area. He told me that Glimmer turned on him and Clove only moments ago and she killed Clove when he wasn't looking. He took off after her but then caught sight of me and Marvel"

I paused again and Finnick urged me to finish. "Glimmer appeared and shot at me with an arrow, but Cato jumped in front of it. He threw his sword at her and she died. However, I had to sit there as Cato died and I was crowned victor of the Games" I was sobbing now. Finnick hugged me close.

"You really are in love with him" he said smiling. "I am happy for you, I really am and I only wish there was something I could do to help you two be together". He smiled and we talked a little while longer about love and his lover Annie back at Victor's Village. I smiled at his love for Annie and began to admire Finnick even more. He told me that he could not even mention the Hunger Games to her; she would end up crying and basically having a break down. I could see the pain it brought him to see him talk about Annie being hurt and scared. I did not like it either; it made me sad and quiet murderous.

He told me I should get some sleep; tomorrow was going to be a hard day. We had an eight hour training session. He went to leave, but I grabbed his hand. "Please stay Finnick. Just until I fall back to sleep" I begged. He smiled and sat up against the head board, his hands resting behind his head. I fell asleep almost immediately and the nightmares stayed away for the rest of that night.

I woke up and find that Finnick was still leaning against the headboard and was beaming with happiness. "Good Morning lover girl and how did you sleep"? I smiled a bit "Good and thank you for last night and staying the whole night. You know you could have gone back to your room. That could not have been comfortable" I said. "O it was" he said smiling "and I loved your smiling face when you slept and your sleep talking". I went completely pale. He brought his hands cupped to his face and talked in a girl voice "O Cato, I love you" he said mocking me. I was tomato red as I pushed him off the bed and stormed to the bathroom. "Is that any way to treat your mentor that stayed the whole night to keep you safe" he asked laughing? I just laughed as I changed and headed to breakfast.


	10. Chapter 10

Breakfast was uneventful, and after we ate we headed to training.

I saw Cato and Clove waiting for me and Jason with Glimmer and Marvel. We all entered together and the training started. Clove and I stuck together while Glimmer followed Cato around like a lost puppy. She kept grabbing his arm and hair twirling. It was really annoying to be honest. Clove laughed at me.

"Come on Payson, Cato likes you not her" she said. I looked back over a Cato as he flexed his muscles as Glimmer ran her fingers over them and laughed. "She is way prettier" I said walking to the monkey bars. "She is not" Clove said following me. "She is annoying and Cato tells me it all the time" she said as I crossed the monkey bars with ease. I jumped off and waited for Clove. I looked over then back to Clove. "What do you call that then?" I asked motioning for Clove to look over the Cato and Glimmer. Cato was playing with Glimmer's hair and laughing. "Umm that is nothing" she said following me trying to convince me. But I knew she was unsure, I could hear it in her voice. It was not the same excited Clove, it was hesitated and questioning, it was subtle and I know she was confused just like me.

Lunch came and I was next to silent when Cato arrived. Clove sat next to me and the other Careers filed in and took seats. Cato sat on my other side and smiled "Ladies how was morning session?" he asked both me and Clove. We both were silent for a moment, chewing our food. I looked at Clove, she was clearly mad at him for hurting me. She was being such a good friend, like a best friend to me. "Fine, yours?" I said suddenly. He looked at me and Clove and said "Good". Clove and I had private conversations the whole lunch and Glimmer kept trying to jump in and Cato was silent from Jason and Marvel's conversation.

We headed back to training and Cato grabbed my arm and Clove's arm as well. The rest of the Careers headed in and Cato waited for them to get out of ear shot. "Why are you two acting weird" he asked looking between the two of us? "We arent Cato" Clove said pushing by him. I followed Clove silently. We worked together on spear throwing. My spear throwing was terrible, still. I nearly killed the trainer and apologized like five times. They told me it was fine, but the suggested that I stick to knife throwing.

Cato seemed to be shadowing us. He finally came up to us. "Hey Clove wanna combat fight?" She shook her head and smiled. "No, that's okay Cato, but I think Payson is more of a fight for you. Don't you think?" She said laughing as she continued spear throwing. She was amazing at it. I love how she now was happy again and all smiles around Cato.

"So how about it Payson?" he asked me smiling. I nodded and we headed into an open area. He counted down to one from three. He threw a really weak punch. I blocked it and threw a kick to his stomach and sent him back a little. I heard Clove cheering from the side. "Girl Power Payson!" then I could hear her laugh. That girl was the best, and I really wish I knew her longer. She made me feel like me and I felt I could tell her anything and that I have known her forever.

Cato threw another weak punch. I stopped. "Stop it Cato" I yelled! He looked shocked. "Stop what?" he asked all innocently. "I know you are holding your punches and you clearly let me land that kick. You wasting my time" I said. He looked at me and pushed me hard. I lost my balance and we were in a full on wrestle on the ground. He had me pinned down hard. He was panting and his eyes were full of hatred. I struggled hard against him and realized how strong he was. I felt his grip tighten on my wrist as I struggled. Clove yelled to him "Cato, you're hurting her". I winced a little as my wrist started to burn under his hand. He threw a punch beside my head and got up and left the training room without saying a word. Clove ran to help me up. Glimmer was laughing and went to congratulate Cato, but he ignored him.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" I asked as I rubbed my already bruising wrist. "Payson, you really do not understand how he cares about you" Clove said smiling looking at my wrist. I looked at the door he stormed out of. The peacekeepers did not seem to care that he left. I mean it was his training time. "I am going to talk to him" I said to Clove. "Payson maybe you should wait for him to cool down" Clove said smiling. I know she was looking out for me, but I needed to talk to him now.

Clove could tell and smiled. "Okay, go after him" she said. I smiled and jogged out that same door Cato passed through only minutes ago. As I past Glimmer she had to throw in her two senses in. "Maybe he will kill her out there" she whispered to Marvel. "Glimmer shut up" I heard Clove yell from across the room. I smiled at Clove and ignored Glimmer. I heard the training doors close behind me.

I listened for Cato. I ran down the long hallway. I suddenly heard something hitting something else from a hallway in front of me. I ran toward the sound. I then heard a loud yell. It was definitely Cato yelling. I ran and rounded the corner as he punches the wall. His hand was bleeding. He wound up for another punch but I ran and grabbed his arm before it hit the wall.

He looked suddenly at me. I was still holding onto his upper right arm with both my hands. I did not even notice that I was crying. He looked hurt. "I can't stop hurting you" he said shaking off my hands from his arm. "I made you cry again and look at you]r wrist, I caused you physical pain" he yelled kicking the wall and throwing another punch. I stood paralyzed. But, I slowly moved from the paralyzed state. I stopped another punch and lowered his arm. He allowed me to but didn't look me in the eye. He looked away.

I slowly brought his bleeding right hand into mine. I touched in gingerly and he yanked it back from me. He pushed me up against the wall that was blood stained from his hand. I saw all the hurt in his eyes and he was still panting in anger. I did not know what to do. He had both his hands at either side of my head, blocking me against the wall in front of this body. He then looked down at the ground. "I can't lose you Payson" he said coughing hard. I know he was trying to suck back his tears. I was shaking. I was kind of scared that he was going to punch me, but deep down knew he would not.

He looked at me and brought his left hand to touch my face. He wiped the tears from my face. "I caused these tears" he said leaning his forehead against mine. "No" I said softly. He looked me in the eyes as tears still came out. The effect he had on me, he does not know. He slowly leaned closer.

It happened slowly and softly. His lips brushed against mine. His left hand arching my head toward his. But, he pulled back suddenly. "Payson, I…I…I didn't" he looked at me and began to pull away. My right hand flew out to his face and pulled him back in. I kissed him and never wanted to stop. He moved closer to me pulling me in by the waist. I snaked both arms around his neck. He lifted me from the ground. It was like I was floating on cloud nine right now and nothing better could ever happen. I felt his tongue run along my lip. I giggled and pulled back. He kissed my lips again and then my nose. "Sorry to fast" he said placing me back on the ground. He then massaged my wrist and kissed it. He wiped my tears but his right hand flinched when he tried to bend it. I took it into my hand.

"Cato" I said sadly. "I'm fine, just a paper cut" he said in his usual smug tone. I touched it and he pulled back. "Seems to be more than a paper cut" I laughed slightly as I led him back to the training center. He placed his left arm around my shoulder as I held his right hand in my hand. We went to the trainer and they bandaged his hand. The trainer sent me off after much argument from me. Cato told me to go train with Clove.

Of course, Clove smiled as I walked over to her. "So, how did it go, and why is Cato bleeding?" she asked looking at me. "And why are you so red?" she gasped.

"He is fine. I found him punching a wall. Do not worry he will be fine" I said picking up a knife and walking over to the dummies. She circled around one. "Yeah answer my other question" she said happily and with excitement.

I blushed harder "O my god he kissed me and it was awesome. He thought I didn't want to but I pulled him back in and we kissed. And o my god Clove he was my first kiss" I spoke super fast. She jumped and hugged me and Cato walked over to us.

"Get back to training you two" Cato said kissing me on the check and pushing Clove like a sibling would. We both laughed and started the throw our knives at the wall dummies.

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Hope you all enjoy 3


	11. Chapter 11

5 o'clock was dinner time. At dinner, I sat with Clove and Cato has his arm draped around me. Marvel was calling us a couple, not that it matter. "It does not really matter, the Games are two days away" I said reminding them all that this was going to end, both my relationship with Cato and my friendship with everyone else. Everyone went quiet. I excused myself and headed for the elevator. I heard someone running after me and I knew it was Cato before I turned around. I felt him press up against my back. "What was that all about" he asked?

"You know it is true Cato, come two days from now, we will be in the arena fighting to the death" I said. He stepped closer and whispered in my ear. "I will protect you until the death" he said. I turned to him. "Don't say that" I said as the elevator opened and I stepped in. I crossed my arms. "What's wrong now Payson?" I sighed hitting four on the control panel. I was silent and we hit my floor but Cato blocked the door. The door stayed open for 30 seconds then closed. He hit two and we went down to his floor. "I will" he promised as the doors opened. He took my hand and pulled me onto his floor. "I am pretty sure this is against the rules Cato" I said barley audible. "Yup, I am definitely not supposed to be here" I said carelessly as he led me to the living room and he sat down on the couch. He pulled me into his arms and I cuddled there.

"I do not want you to die for me" I said quietly. He looked me in the eyes. "I will though. I have not know you long Payson Seas of District Four, but I have fallen in love with you from the moment I saw you" he said leaning forward so that I could feel his breath on my lips. "I love you Cato and I could not bear you dying, especially for me" I said as his lips came crashing down on mine. He pulled me on top of his body and pulled my closer. I tried to materialize into his arms.

He ran his tongue on my lips again and I opened my mouth slowly. He laughed and stopped. "Payson why are you being so shy today?" he asked. "You are always so headstrong and confident" he laughed looking at me. "Because" I said looking away, "I never kissed anyone before you" I said embarrassed.

He laughed and pulled my forehead to his. "Good, then you will be forever my girl" he said kissing me again. "Follow my lead' he said as his tongue begged for permission to enter my mouth. I opened and let his tongue dart into my mouth. It was awkward at first, but I let my eyes close and tried to follow him. I went to move my tongue to his, then, we were broken up quickly by Clove. "Hey lovebirds, but we have to be downstairs for our individual score evaluations."

I gasped and shot up.

I stood in line and was shaking like crazy, but it was not noticeable to the other tributes. These scores will show the sponsors I am strong and deserve support. Without sponsors, tributes never make it to the end. Sponsors are the difference between life and death in that arena. In a way, they are our only life line.

Cato kept looking back and winking at me and smiling. "STOP" I mouthed to him. His name was called and I smiled as he turned back one more time before entering the arena.

My turn came way too fast. I walked in still not knowing what to do. The Gamemakers show me destroy their obstacle course. I decided that I would do some knife throwing. I missed the first target and barely made the second. I was shocked.

The Gamemakers finally released me and I walked out calmly pretending that it did not bother me. Cato picked me up and spun me around. I tried not to look disappointed, but clearly that did not work well. Cato kissed my neck then placed me back to the ground.

"So, how did you do?" I shook my head. "I barely hit the target. I will be lucky to get a five" I said. Cato hugged me. "Who cares, I will share any sponsors gifts I receive with you. Anyway, come watch the training results with me? I invited the rest of the Careers" he told me. I looked at Clove and she was smiling and nodding like crazy. She probably did not want to stay with Glimmer. The three of us walked up to Marvel and Glimmer and Jason followed. We all decided to watch the results on floor 2, home to District two.

I cuddle up next to Cato as the Panem anthem aired at 7 o'clock. I rolled my eyes and cuddled closer to him and he pulled me closer. Glimmer got a nine for arrow shooting, Marvel got a nine for spear throwing, Cato got a ten for sword fighting, Clove got a ten for knife throwing, the girl from three got a seven and the boy from 3 got a nine. Finally Jason's picture showed up. He received an eight for physical strength.

My picture flashed on the screen. I heard my name announced and saw a pathetic five show up on the screen. Glimmer laughed out loud and Clove just smiled at me.

"Come on, we all know that you are going to survive and know how to hold your own" Clove told me. We were totally ignoring the rest of the tributes scores. Cato pulled me close to him. "So I got a ten, do I get a reward for my hard work" he asked all seductively? I forced a smile.

Apparently I was not convincing enough with the smile because Cato sat up and leaned back on his arms and said "Come on Payson; please do not be bummed out. I know you are amazing and will make it to the end. I will make sure the sponsors love you too. I am gonna protect you" he said kissing my neck then up to my check. I tried to smile but I could not stop thinking about that five.

I excused myself and headed down the training center, with much begging to stay from Cato and Clove and small words of encouragement from Marvel and Jason. Cato walked me to the door and I begged him to leave me alone for a little while. I walked in and the lights illuminated.

I walked in and let of a scream of frustration. I had failed myself. I would surely die out there. I could not expect Cato to take care of me. It would be taking away from his life lines and I know that there can only be one victor. I would probably just end up dragging him down. I picked up a knife and threw it as hard as I could. It landed perfectly in the heart of the dummy. I screamed again. I heard a laugh, and I turned to see Finnick smiling. "Gamemakers must have it out for you if you can throw like that and only receive a five" he said jokingly.

Finnick looked at me. I did not react to his attempt at humor to calm me down. "So what happened at the scoring?" he said me calmly pulling the knife out of the dummy and throwing it me. I caught two between my fingers right in front of my face. "I choked; I barely even hit the second dummy. I completely missed the first one" I said turning and throwing the knife perfectly into the dummies heart adjacent to Finnick. I picked up about ten more. I threw them all and not one missed the heart. Finnick clapped softly. "See the girl who got only a five. Don't worry lover girl, sponsors will watch you in the arena and see they should be betting on you" he said as the doors of the training center opened again.

It was Cato, and Finnick excused himself. I did not realize how labored my breathing was. I removed the knives again as I heard Finnick close the training center door. Cato stood against the wall. I tried to ignore him, but it was impossible. I made the first nine perfectly in the heart but the tenth I completely missed. I screamed in frustration and side kicked the dummy beside me, digging the knife deeper into the dummies heart.

Cato stepped toward me. "You know, missing one out of ten is not bad" he said handing me the knife that skated across the door when I missed the dummy. "Yes it is Cato! That could be my death sentence. Literally" I said walking back to the center of the circle. I felt him follow me and stand right behind me. I could feel his breathe on my neck. "I will protect you, ten out of ten times" he said breathing against my neck. I could feel myself going weak but I refused to let this happen. I was strong and I could fight my own battles. Besides, I had to keep reminding myself that Cato would eventually have to kill me as well.

I stepped away to retrieve the rest of the knives from the dummies, but Cato pushed me up against the wall. "Stop" he yelled at me and blocked me between the wall and him. "Just let me protect you Payson" he whispered to me in a begging tone. Before I could answer he was kissing me. It started soft and innocent, but grew stronger. I opened my mouth and our tongues did a tango in my mouth. My arms gripped around his neck and he hand his arms around my waist. He pulled me closer to him each time. As we both came up for air I looked him in the eyes. I was totally screwed; I had fallen so hard for Cato of District Two. He kissed my lightly on the nose and hugged me into his chest again. We stayed like this for a few moments.

He pulled back and looked me in the eyes. "Come back to the room with me" he seemed to beg me.

"Finnick would never allow it" I said trying to clam my breathing. "Yes I would" I heard Finnick's voice by the training center doors. Clearly, he had never left, he wanted to stay and watch us interact with each other. He probably wanted to make sure that Cato was not just playing me. Cato nearly jumped five feet from me when he heard my mentor's voice. Finnick laughed lightly and motioned for us to walk toward him. I walked slowly and Cato walked with his arms around my shoulder.

I could feel Finnick beaming with happiness for me. "Just make sure you show up for training tomorrow…" he said to me and then looked to Cato "...both of you"

"You know that this is against the rules Finnick" I said to him as Cato pulled me closer. "I know, but you two remind me of Annie" he said. He then turned to Cato "Annie is the woman that I love" he explained to him. Cato smiled and looked down at me then back to Finnick and Cato spoke "I do love her, and I am going to protect her. I am going to do everything in my power to get her out of that arena safety, even if it means ending my own life" he said. Finnick smiled and nodded "Cato I trust you" he said.

"Please stop" I said turning into Cato and hugging him. I did not want to cry again. I felt him hug me back and kiss the top of my head. Finnick laughed. "Let's get to bed" he said as he opened the training center door. He walked with us to the elevator. It was silent and I was still hugging onto Cato. As the doors opened to floor two, I was frozen where I stood. "Payson, we need to move" he said gently to me. I nodded but my body refused to move. I felt Cato lift me bridal style into his arms. I buried my head into Cato's shoulder and hugged my arms around his neck. Finnick kissed my head and I looked up to smile at him. He saw the tears and wiped one away. "Smile lover girl, you are in good hands" he said as Cato stepped off the elevator. "Thank you Finnick" Cato said. We watched the elevator doors close.

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Hope you all enjoy 3


	12. Chapter 12

Cato carried me to his bed room. His room was big. The king size bed looked so inviting right now. It had black silk sheets and a black silver comforter. Cato placed me at the end and I detached myself from him. I wiped a few tears away. Cato kissed my quickly and then pulled off his training shirt. I quickly looked away out of instinct. I felt myself blushing. I heard Cato laugh and walk in front of me. I slowly looked over and he was still shirtless. He was smiling at me and then put a large pair of black sweatpants in my hands and a white wife beater shirt. I was still staring at his abs. "Payson, your staring" he said breaking my trance.

I took the cloths and slowly walked to the bathroom that was connected to the room. I slowly opened it and looked back at Cato. I smiled and slowly walked into the bathroom closing the door behind me. I could hear Cato laugh to himself. I heard him open another drawer and probably change into sweatpants, much like the ones he lent me.

I pulled off my training gear and pulled on the sweat pants. I slowly pulled on the wife beater. I then turned to look at myself in the mirror. The pants were way too big on me, but the shirt fit perfectly. I rolled the pants twice and they were still dragging. I heard Cato knock on the door. "You okay Payson?" he asked against the door.

"Yeah, I'll be right out" I said still looking at myself, clearly I was taking a long time and not realizing it. "Okay" he said. I heard him turn on the television in the bedroom and climb into the bed. I ran some cold water and slashed it on my face. I stared at my reflection. I dried my face and slowly walked out. I saw Cato watching TV. I stood against the door frame of the bedroom and bathroom staring at the TV. It was some special about previous Hunger Games Winners. It was showing how they won and highlights from their year in the arena.

"OWW OWW" I heard from the bed. I turned and saw Cato staring at me. I smiled and laughed lightly and pulled my arms to cover my waist. Cato laughed and jumped out of the bed and walked up to me.

"Do not be shy Payson" Cato smiled pulled me into his arms. Slowly he led me to the bed. He let me crawl into the bed and he slid in beside him. He pulled the sheets over me. I could feel myself shaking now. "You cold" Cato asked me? I looked over to him and cuddled closer to him. "No, I am fine" I said knowing it was nerves. "Are you sure Payson, you're shaking?" he said rubbing my arms and moving closer to me.

I buried my head into his shoulder. I heard them announce Finnick's name on the television however. My head shot up and there I saw it, the 65th Hunger Games. I saw Finnick being crowned after killing off the final challenger. I cringed at the sight and buried myself back into Cato.

Cato hugged me and told me it was over. They were now interviewing Finnick after his winning year. I looked back at Cato. He was looking down at me and was smiling. He slowly kissed my nose, then my check, and finally my lips. It started innocent and then grew more passionate and faster. Our tongues began to tango in my mouth.

I pushed my body closer to his and then he rolled on top of me. He keeps kissing me and slowly his hand starts to make its way under my shirt. He drew circles on my stomach which made me laugh as my kissed me. He looked at me as we caught out breaths.

He kissed my check and I grabbed his head and pulled it back toward mine. Our lips met again. I ran my finger threw his hair. We kissed for what seemed like hours.

"Payson, I love you" he said after our long make out session. I looked up and smiled "I love you too Cato". He pulled me into him and I cuddled closer to him.

I soon found myself falling asleep. He kissed me once more. "Payson, you can fall asleep" he told me pulling me even closer to him.

I had many nightmares this night; they were getting worse and worse as the games draw closer.

_We were in the arena and Cato and Clove were attacking me. Their eyes were full of hatred. I ran as fast as I could and ended up running into a clearing. Cato tackled me into the ground. Glimmer and Clove held me down. Cato stood over and swung a sword above me. He then slammed it into my chest. I saw him grab Glimmer and kiss her hard. I screamed out_

I woke up screaming in a dead sweat. I woke up Cato in the process. I ended up shooting right up. Cato was awake within seconds of my scream. "Payson, Shh it's okay, it was just a nightmare" he said hugging me into his chest. I cried full force into him. He cuddled me closer into him. I sobbed out loud. Cato tried to keep my calm. "Shhh its okay baby, im here and going to stay here" he said. This made me sob harder.

Clove was sprinting into the room within a minute of my screams. "Payson?" she asked questioningly. I looked at her in tears. "Welcome to floor two" she said laughing lightly. I smiled "thanks, im sorry I woke you both up" I said getting up. Cato tried to stop me. "Im just gonna run some cold water on my face" I said walking into the bathroom. Clove followed me and shut the door behind us.

"Payson, what happened?" she asked. I smiled through the tears "Cato found me at the training center and asked me to stay with him. My mentor told me I could and encouraged it" I said coughing lightly still. I turned on the faucet and splashed the cold water on my face.

"That is not what I mean" she said. I knew she wanted to know why I was screaming in the dead of night. "I have been having nightmares as the Games approach" I told her. She walked over and shut off the faucet. She smiled at me lightly. "You know you can tell me anything right" she asked me. I nodded and hugged her and cried a little. "It was horrible Clove" I said as I release her. I looked off into the distance, almost forgetting she was there. I flashed back to the dream.

"You and Cato were after me. There was so much hatred in your eyes and Glimmer…Glimmer was there and Cato kissed her. ..Right after he ran his sword through my heart" I said. I heard someone kicked something in the bedroom. I knew that Cato was listening. Clove walked over and opened the door. Cato was literally pacing the room holding his head between his hands. Clove went to calm him down. She talked to him and after five minutes got him to sit down on the edge of the bed. I stood against the door frame. Clove came up to me.

"Payson, you know you're like my best friend right?" I smiled. "Clove, you are my best friend" I said hugging her. "Payson, I would never turn on you" she said laughing. "I would make sure I would never end up alone with just Glimmer" she laughed to ease the tension. I laughed and hugged her hard. "Mhmm, get some sleep" she said. "If the nightmares come back let me know if you need anything" she said. I nodded as she walked out the room. She exchanged a look with Cato; I knew she was saying you need to talk it out with Payson.

As Clove left, the room was silent. I looked around the room and saw that Cato had thrown the lamp and shattered it, and many magazines now laid ripped and torn all over the floor. He was still breathing hard as he sat at the end of the bed, he still had his hands in his head and he was not staring at the ground.

"Cato?" I asked quietly but he did not move. I slowly walked over to him and stood next to him. I repeated his name "Cato?" There was still no response, so I sat next to him, and leaned my head against his shoulder. "Please do not be mad Cato. It was a dream, that's all. I know you would never" I say to him as I stared at the blank television screen.

He finally looked up and wraps his arm around my body and hugs me close. I slid over so I am sitting completely on his lap and hugged him tighter and place my head on his shoulder. I breathe lightly against his neck. I can feel him kiss my collar bone and then he finally speaks. "I love you" he said quietly. I knew from his voice that there was more he wanted to say. "I love you too" I say. He pulls me away so I am looking right into his eyes. "Payson, I will never turn on you and never leave you to die" he says to me.

I see a tear form. He looks away, but I softly place my hand on his check and turn his face back. I wipe away the now falling tear. "I know, it was just a nightmare that spooked me" I said. "Let's go back to sleep" I suggest. He nods and we scotched back up the bed. He pulls the blanket up next to him so I can cuddle close to him. I feel the blanket rest on me and his arm wrap around my waist protectively. I wrapped my arm place both my hands on his chest and start to fall asleep again, hoping for some peace from nightmares, but I was wrong.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ~Cato's Point of View~ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I watched as Payson falls back to sleep. I cannot stop thinking about that dream she had. About 20 minutes later, Payson starts to toss and turn in the bed. She thrashes her head around. I pull her closer and try to calm her down. "Shhh Payson, you're okay. I am here to protect you" I say. She slowly calms down. However, minutes later she starts again. However, it was more violent this time. Her legs moved as if she was running away from something. She wiggled from under my arms. Her arms few to her head as she whimpered.

"No, no please don't hurt him. Please no…no... No, NOOOOO. CATO" She shrieked. Her eyes opened and searched the room to make sure she was no longer dreaming. She looked to me right after and hugged me. She cried hard into me. "They killed you" she sobbed into my chest.

"Shh" I soothed her running my left hand through her hair. I kept my right arm around her and pulled her close to me. I looked to the clock. It was only midnight. "Payson, Shh its okay baby. I'm here, it was just a dream". I saw Clove step in, but then smiled and waved bye. She knew I had it under control.

Payson finally calmed down. She wiped her tears away. She pushed away. "Sorry I woke you up again" she told me. "Shh, its fine Payson, but I want to take you somewhere" I told her. She nodded and followed me out of the bed. I helped her put a large gray sweatshirt on. It was much too big for her, but she pulled the sleeves into her fist. She then pulled her fist close to her chest. I could see her biting the tips of her fingers.

I pulled on a light zip-up on. I pulled her close to my side. She leaned against me for support. My left arm rested lightly on her shoulder. I called the elevator. We stepped in. Payson was completely silent until she broke the silence with a few words that were barely audible.

"They killed you" she sobbed. I looked down at her. Tears were streaming down her face like waterfalls. She pulled the sleeves tighter in her fist and hugged her fist into her chest. I saw her knuckles growing white and she continued to bite her finger tips.

I pulled her hands down and held them in my hands. She was still crying, but was holding in sobs. I pulled her in for a hug. The elevator binged and I led her out. She looked up and saw we were standing on the roof of the building. I walked her over the edge. I placed her in front of me. I put either of my hands on either side of her, holding my hands on the railing. She sobbed hard grabbing onto the railing. He knuckles turned ghost white.

I turned her around and pulled her into me. I sat down against the wall adjacent to the railing and pulled her into me. She cried into my chest. I soothed her by running my hands through her hair. "Payson, Shh baby I got you". She seemed to response well to this. She calmed down after ten minutes.

I turned her around so back was against my chest. I had one knee up and the other stretched out. I rested my right hand on my bent right knee. Payson pulled her knees to her chest and leaned her head on her knees. I placed my left hand on her shoulder. Slowly my other hand touched her shoulders. I started to massage her shoulders. She sighed a sigh of relief.

I continued to massage her shoulders and she slowly, but surely started to lean back against me. Soon she was asleep against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her. She turned her body so her legs were still cuddled against her, but she was laying her left side of her head on my chest. Her right hand was resting on my chest. I slowly kissed her head and closed my eyes. I did not need to wake her up.

Hours past in peace and when I opened my eyes I saw the most beautiful sunrise.

I slowly moved and Payson arose. She moaned a little and looked at me. She smiled up at me. She cuddled closer to me. She was clearly cold. I pulled off my jacket and wrapped it around her. "Cato, you should keep that on. It is cold" she said. I smiled down at her. "Its fine, I think it looks cute on you" I said. She smiled and blushed. We watched the sun rise in silence. Finally I spoke. "It's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen" I said.

She nodded and turned to me. She realized I was looking down at her and not at the sunrise. Yes, the sunrise was beautiful, but she was radiant. She tilted her head up and kissed me lightly. I kissed her back and smiled. "Thanks for staying with me" she said. "And thanks for putting up with my nightmares. I am glad they did not come back again once we came up here" she said to me. I kissed her lightly again "I would stay with you every night to fight those nightmares away" I told her.

She smiled "I wish you could" she said to me. The door to the building opened and we saw Clove. "Hey lovebirds, breakfast" she said. I helped Payson to her feet. The three of us headed back to floor two. Payson changed in the bathroom and I changed in the bedroom. I saw the bed was already made. I also noticed that the lamp had been replaced and all the magazines were cleaned up and new ones sat neatly on the night stand. Payson emerged from the bathroom in her training uniform that was cleaned by the Avox. She folded the sweatpants and two jackets and white shirt and placed them at the end of the bed.

She walked up to me and traced the two on the right sleeve. She then ran her hand down to mine. She took her hand in hers and held it tight. She remained silent. I smiled down at her, but was concerned. She seemed to have drawn back into herself. "Let's get some breakfast" I told her. I held her hand and walked her to the elevator. Clove awaited us. Finnick was with Jason as the elevator stopped for us. We all walked in and rode down.

Finnick looked at us. "So how did everyone sleep?" he asked jokingly. I shook my head no. "Nightmares" I told him. Payson stared at the floor. Clove smiled and spoke up "they ended up on the roof though" Payson leaned her head against my arm and squeezed my hand tighter. I smiled at her and kissed the top of her head.

The door opened to the main floor. We all filed out and grabbed breakfast. Payson sat down, but refused to eat. She finally released my hand and let me eat, but I placed my arm around her. She sat with her legs pulled to her chin and stayed leaning against my arm.

I grabbed a piece of toast from her plate and handed it to her. She shook her head no. "Please Payson, for me. You need to eat. Today is the last day of training" I told her. She took it, but I knew what I just said really upset her.

She took small bits and then put it back down after a few bits. I did not force it more. The bell rang to signal that we had training now. I picked up both our trays and threw everything out.

I walked her toward to door and I stayed with her during training. Her knife throwing was seriously scary today. The knives hit the dummies perfectly and sometimes knocked the dummy back. It was amazing and scary. I could tell she was angry and scared.

"You should go practice your sword skills" she told me not looking at me and walked to retrieve her knives. I waited for her to return. She never made eye contact with me. She turned and started again. I walked slowly in front of her last dummy and then waited. "Cato" Clove yelled at me. I saw everyone stare at me.

Payson was in the zone and I wondered if she would notice I walked in the line of her fire. Her movements seemed to be in slow motion in front of me. She twirled and threw knives, everyone taking its rightful place in the dummies heart. I was in front of the last target dummy. She turned and saw me and threw the knife away at the dummy to the left that already held a knife in the heart. The knife had landed in the dummies shoulder. She ran to me and tackled me into the ground.

She was throwing punches at my face. My arms protected my face. None of the other tributes moved to stop her. However, the peacekeepers ran to break us up. They pulled her off me and removed her from the room. She was screaming in anger and crying. She was kicking her legs around like crazy trying to break away from the peacekeeper. "Are you insane, I could have killed you" she screamed as the peacekeeper pulled her from the training center. Clove walked over to help me up. I accepted her hand and my eyes stayed locked at the training center door.

"I was just trying to break her trance. She has not been herself" I told Clove. "Don't worry Cato, she will be fine" she said. I was unable to focus the rest of the morning. Payson never returned to the training center.

At lunch, she was escorted to the lunch room by two peacekeepers. She had a huge bruise on her face. She looked up at Clove and me. She quickly adverted her eyes to the floor. I got up and ran up to her and brought her into my arms. She grabbed my shirt and hugged me back. "Who hurt you Payson" I asked her. I looked at the peacekeepers walk away from us. "No one, I'm fine" she said. "Payson that is a huge bruise" I told her. I lifted her face so I could look her in the eye. I examined the bruise up close. It was black, purple, and blue. It started at her right temple and ran down to the edge of the right side of her chin. It seriously looked like someone took a pipe and smashed it against her innocent face.

I kissed it gently and she smiled. "I am sorry I yelled" she said looking into my eyes. "And I am sorry I scared you" I told her. I walked her over to the food table. I grabbed her food and carried her tray. She sat down and cuddled up to me at the table. Clove hugged her and Payson smiled back to her.

I glared at the peacekeepers. One of them attacked my girl and they were not going to get away with it. Payson just stared at the food, but made no movements to eat it. I grabbed the sandwich and handed it to her. She was still leaning against me. She took it into her hands and slowly ate it. I watched as she took little bites and she chewed slowly and swallowed. I was silent until she finished it. I could hear Clove talking to Glimmer and Jason and Marvel talking, however I stayed watching my girl.

She looked up at me and smiled once she was finished. She leaned against my arm again and I watched the rest of the tributes and started to size them up.

District three looked threatening and I knew they had been watching my alliance. I knew that Glimmer would turn on Payson and Clove first, when she felt that there were not enough other tributes to kill off. The guys from five, six, seven and eight looked threatening and the girls from five and nine looked like they would last long. I tried to make mental notes.

The bell signaled it was time for our last training session. Payson looked up at me and I got up and took our trays in my left hand. I placed my right arm around her and walked her to the trash. I walked her back into the training center. Clove worked on spear throwing and I took Payson to the swords. We both knew that no matter how long she trained this afternoon, her spear throwing would not improve. She nearly killed the trainer days ago. She apologized a lot and that still makes me nervous, I am afraid she will not be able to kill the other tributes when the time came. She was great at taking out dummies, but real people? I handed her one sword and she took the sword into her hands. "I want to teach you some basics, just in case a sword is the only thing you can grab" I tell her. She took the sword in her hands and seemed to shake a bit and examined the sword. She ran her hand along the blade. I would teach her to be the best defensive tribute. If should could not kill, she would be able to fend off other tributes.

"It is kind of like a long knife" I tell her. I walk behind her and placed her hands on the sword handle. I held my hands over hers. I seemed to study the position and I could see her smiling a bit.

I back away and watch her hold the sword alone. She held it perfectly. I quickly grab my sword and walk in front of her. I spun the sword effortlessly in circles in front of her. I see her watching my wrist movements trying to memorize the movements. "Remember this Payson, it will take you longer to grab your sword, than it will take someone to hit you with their sword" she nods making that mental note.

"Remember to keep your balance. Most people will get hit because they are off balance" I say as she nods. "Remember to also keep your sword up so you can protect yourself. The best way is to keep your elbows bent and close to your body" I tell her. I see her bend her elbows and pull them into her body." She looks to me and I nod to her.

I now showed her how to stab someone and how to block. She works on a dummy and does well, however I notice that she is conserved in her attacks. I can tell that she is not comfortable with a sword, but is trying to get used to it. I know that Gamemakers will take weapons with the dead tributes. She will need to be familiar with all weapons. I do not know how many knives will be available for her to use.

Next I have her step into open space with me. I smiled at her. "Okay, now I want you to practice against me okay" I asked. She nods not speaking a word. I see her reposition the sword in her hands. I can see the serious focus in her face and the stiffness in her arms, and she remains silent. I can tell she is trying to take in all the advice I am giving her and she is trying to memorize the techniques.

I lift my sword and she watches me step toward her. I bring it down over her head and she blocks it and I noticed her watching me with studying eyes. I turn and swing at her side and she blocks again. I can tell she is going to be very defensive with a sword. Finally I go for a stab at her. She smashes her blade against mine and knocks it out of my hands. I underestimated her strength. She lunged at me before I have time to pick up my sword. Her sword lies on top of mine. She pulls a knife from her boot and at my neck. I put my hands to show that I surrendered.

"I want to teach you sometime Cato, I am strong from working at the docks" she says lowering the blade. "And one more thing, remember knives can be concealed almost anywhere" she smiles at me. I laugh and pick my sword back up. I pick hers up and we work more on it. I finally let her go knife throwing. I am amazed at her.

Finally the bell rings signaling all the training is now over. The peacekeepers check each tribute extra well to make sure they did not try to sneak any weapons out of the training center. No one did. We all watched as the locked up the training center for good this year. No one will be able to go in tonight for final training.

I stepped toward the peacekeepers "Okay which one of you hurt my girl" I yelled. Payson stepped to pull my back and the peacekeepers raised a gun to me. "Cato, forget it please" she begged me. I turned to Payson and nodded walking away shooting one last glare at the peacekeepers.

All the tributes head for dinner. Clove and Payson are talking the entire time and laughing. I talked in hushed tones to Marvel and Jason. I decided to pull the three girls into our conversation. "We need to keep an eye on District three, five, six, seven and eight. The girl from nine is strong I was watching her" I tell them, and they all nod in acknowledgment.

We all disperse and Clove and Payson stay behind with me. Clove starts to speak "we are the alliance in the alliance. We know that Glimmer will go after us as soon as the majority of the other tributes are dead" she says. Payson nods.

"Payson, stay with me tonight" I beg her. Clove smiles and nods at her. "You should Payson" Clove says. Payson nods and we headed to the elevator. Finnick was informed by an Avox that Payson was staying with me for the night.

She changes into the same thing as last night, much faster than last night. I was not even out of my training shirt yet. She walks out of the bathroom and walks up to me and hugs me tight. I can tell she is going to cry and she is afraid. I pick her up and place her gently on the bed. I crawl on top of her and smile down at her.

I pull off my training shirt, leaving my shirtless. I move to grab a shirt from the end of the bed, but see Payson move her hand. I stop moving for her and I tower over her. I placed my right hand on the bed to support myself and my left knee is between both her legs and my right knee is to the side of her left knee and next to my right hand.

She runs her right hand over my abs and smiles. I laugh at her innocence. I let her run her hand over my abs for a few minutes. She slowly works her arms up to my chest and my arms. She runs her hand over my bicep of my left arm and her left hand runs across my chest. I laugh as she brings her hands back down to her sides.

I move a fallen piece of hair from her face. I bring my left hand to cup her face. I bring my lips down to hers. Her right hand cups my face as she pulls up to get closer to me. I love the feel of her lips on mine. Our kiss grows more passionate and stronger. She seems to be begging me to stay like this forever, if only.

My right hand subconsciously moves to her stomach. It makes its way under her top. I draw circles on her stomach and pulls me closer to her. She quickly breaks our kiss and I pull her top of leaving her with just a bra on, I throw the shirt to the end of the bed. She pulls me back in for another kiss.

I just thank the lord that we closed the bedroom door tonight. She slowly starts to pull me closer as she leans closer to me. She kneels up to be closer. My hands move to unsnap her bra. As it unsnaps, she moves her arms so I can get it off. I throw it behind me and push her lightly down on the bed. She leans against the pillow and I smiled kissing her again. My right hand moves up from her hip to her chest.

She lets out a moan into my mouth as I massage her breast. She lets out another moan and arches her back up toward me. Slowly I start to work my mouth down. I kissed her chin, then her neck, then finally her collar bone. I massage her left breast, and then finally I kiss her breast. I start to suck on her breast and I hear her breathing grow sharp. I feel her grab my hair and know she is enjoying it.

I move to work on her right breast. I continue to massage her left one with my hand. "Caattooo" she moans. Her breathing was sharp and her hands moved to my training pants that were growing tighter by the second.

Her hands were shaking as she tried to pull the pants off. However, she could not because her hands were shaking so much. This is how I knew she was really upset. She should have been able to just slide them, but I am not even mad.

I stopped her and looked her in the eyes. Payson had tears streaming down her face. "Shh Payson you don't need to cry" I tell her moving her hands from my pants. She kept trying to move her hands back to my pants but I stopped her. "Payson, not tonight" I say to her. "You are upset and I want you to enjoy it" I tell her.

She lets a sob escape her lips. I grabbed white wife beater shirt. I pulled the tank over her head. I kiss her nose and wipe away the tears. Another sob escapes her lips.

"Baby why are you crying?" I asked her. She sits up and pulls her legs into her chest. "Because I ruin everything" she told me. I sit up next to her and hug her in, but I can feel her resisting me. I move to I am directly in front of her. I rest my hands on her shoulders. "No you don't Payson, I love you and we can wait" I tell her. "Cato, no we can't" she sobs hard "tomorrow the Games start." She sobs hard throwing herself into my arms.

"Let it out Payson" I say rubbing her back and running my other hand threw her hair. I feel her tears run down my chest. I feel useless right now, like I can't help her. She slowly grows quieter. She runs her hands over my abs again.

"Not tonight Payson, but we will" I tell her. She smiles and hugs me again. "I hope" she says and I lower her back to the pillow. I crawled in beside her and cuddle her close. I kiss her on the lips then her forehead. She falls asleep almost immediately.

I stare at the clock and not ten minutes later, she started to talk in her sleep. "No… no…im not…please no…please don't hurt him…please…CATO" she shrieks and her eyes open wide and bore into mine.

I kiss her lightly and she cuddles back into me. "I keep watching you die" she said hugging me. I kiss her head gingerly. "Do not worry baby" I say.

I am surprised that she does not fight back, she does not make a comment, but she must be real tired because she was asleep almost seconds later. I fall asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

I hear the alarm go off. I see that it is 6:00 am.

I see an Avox come in and then Finnick also. "Payson needs to come get ready" he tells me sadly. The Avox wakes her up and pulls her from the bed. She screams and reaches for me. Finnick walks over to the Avox and takes Payson into his arms. I get up out of the bed. She cries and Finnick lets her run into my arms. I hug her and slowly walk her to the elevator with Finnick. She hugs me close. When the elevator comes and I help her in and she tries to stay clinked to me.

I kiss her and slowly she has to let go. She goes to grab me again, but I stop her. "I will see you in the arena" I kiss her one last time. Finnick smiles at me. "Just a last tip Cato; do not step off the platform too early. They will blow you sky high" Finnick told me. "Thanks, I will tell Clove" I tell him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ~Payson's point of view~ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I saw the door close finally breaking me away from Cato. I punch the door hard and Finnick grabs hold of me. "Payson, you will see him again in the arena. I know you two are going to be fine" he told me.

I have my stylist do my hair simply, and I pull on the spandex pants and pull on the light windbreaker. I see the small 4 stitching on the arm. Hazel and Finnick escort me to the hovercraft.

I sit next to Cato on the hovercraft. The Avox's were shooting things into everyone's arms. I see Cato flinch at the pain. He turns and smiles at me. He reaches to hold my hand. The Avox holds their hand out for me. I lift my arm and they shoot something into my arm. "What is this?" I ask and Gamemakers smiles wickedly at me. "Just your tracker, we would not want to miss anything good" he tells me. The hovercraft door closes and we take off. I hold Cato's hand tightly and smile at Clove.

We land and each escorted to our platforms. I step into my tube and turn back at Finnick as the door closes. I feel my platform starts to move up and I struggle to get out. Finnick shakes his head no and blows me a kiss and gives me thumbs up.

My eyes adjust to the light and I see that I am finally in the arena. I see the Cornucopia. The supplies are lined up in order of what is best. The things that are going to be most valuable are in the mouth of the Cornucopia and the basics are at the outskirts. I see Clove across the way from me and she is in a sprinter position. I see she is aiming for the bundle of knives. Cato is seven tributes from me. He is looking around and I met his eyes. He blows me a kiss and then turns back to the Cornucopia. I notice I am next to Marvel. He seems to be eyeing the arena too. I head the speaker counting down. "15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10" and I search for something to defend myself with. "9, 8, 7,6,5,4,3,2,1, and the horn sounds". I did not move and I see kids running at each other.

I move suddenly and pick up a sword that lays close by me. I see the boy from District nine throw a spear at me. I dodge it and he circles me. I thank the lords I let Cato teach me how to sword fight. He lungs at me, and I run my sword through him.

I pull it out and stand stunned as he drops dead in front of me. I see Clove struggles against District three. I run to her aid. I take stance face to face with the girl. "Thanks girl" Clove says. She throws a knife at the boy, but he dodged it, and the two look at each other and take off.

"Payson behind you" I hear Marvel yell. I turn and see District ten's boy running at me. I take stand, but Cato rams into him and stabs him through the chest. We all look around the Cornucopia. Cato runs up to me and hugs me with one arm. I place my right hand on his chest as he is still surveillance the arena. "Thanks" I say staring at the boy. "I killed the boy from nine" I say to him dropping the sword. He looks down to me. I was rubbing my arms. He holds me closer. "It was either him or you" he says and we hear the cannon go off. I turn into his chest and hug him close, silently counting.

I survey the Cornucopia after I hear the last cannon blast. "11 dead already" Clove announces. I notice all the blood. "Okay, let's gather all the supplies from the outskirts. We will pile everything in the Cornucopia" Cato announces. He kissed my head and then sets off. Clove came up to me. "Thanks for saving me back there" she says. I smile at her "anytime girl" I say. We move to grab everything from the outskirts. Soon everything was brought into the mouth of the Cornucopia. The other tributes were going to struggle because from the looks of it, we have the most food and weapons.

We all rummage through the stuff and grab what weapon we want. Cato takes of sword, of course, and Clove and I grab a bundle of knives. There are ten knives to a bundle. Glimmer had the bow and arrow and Marvel had a spear. Jason seems to like the sword as well.

We see that the sun is setting. "Whats that noise" I asked suddenly. We all see the hovercraft coming. "We need to move" I yell as the hovercraft moves down to take the mangled bodies of the fallen. We all hide in the Cornucopia.

When we hear the hovercraft take off we slowly walk back to the mouth of the Cornucopia. The sky had slowly grown black, night was now upon us.

We soon see a smoke in the distance. "Look" Clove says. "I think it's hunting time" Clove says wickedly. I smile and we all move toward the smoke. "I think someone should stay here and protect the supplies" Marvel says. "Good idea, any volunteers?" Cato asks. I like that he seems to be the leader of the alliance. "I will" Marvels says. "We should rotate who stays watch though" he says. "Yeah that is a good idea" Cato says. "Let's go" Cato says.


	14. Chapter 14

I ran beside Clove and Cato was in the front. We slowly crept up to the smoke signal coming from the fire that the girl from District six. "What an idiot" I say quietly to Clove. She laughs softly. "This girl won't even see it coming. "Who wants to honor" Cato asks. "We should surround her, so she does not try to take off" Jason suggest. We all slowly walk out and surround the girl. She gets up and her eyes dart between all us. Clove looks to me and then back to the girl. She draws her knife and the girl goes to run, but she ran right into Cato's arms. She struggles against his hold. "Do not worry it will only hurt a bit" he says and breaks her neck. I turn from it and shake a bit.

Everyone laughed as the cannon sounds. _That is 12 dead and the six of us makes 18. So that's six more tributes until we all turn on each other. _ I think to myself. Cato walks over to me and throws his arm around my shoulder. I shake a little and I think he notices, but does not say anything. The group runs ahead and keeps laughing and mocking the poor dead girl.

"What's wrong Payson" Cato asks as we hang back. "Nothing, it is just scary seeing everyone change" I say looking at the ground. "Please don't lie to me" he begs. We stop and he holds my head and I shake suddenly. "I promise I won't hurt you Payson" he asks kissing me lightly. I hug him and we continue to walk on. "I love you Cato" I say. He smiles down at me "I love you too Payson" he says as we enter the clearing with the Cornucopia.

"Okay, Payson and I will take first watch, everyone else get some sleep. Marvel and Clove will take over at two, and finally Glimmer and Jason at six. We will go hunting at eight" Cato says. Everyone nods and heads to sleep. Suddenly the anthem airs. We watch the night sky. There are pictures of the fallen starting with District 5. I know that means that District three was still alive. After the night turns black, everyone picks a place to sleep.

Cato and I sit and watch the woods for any movement. I pace back and forth. Cato walks up to me and hugs me. "See we are fine" he says. I keep watching the woods. "Payson, please look at me" he begs. "Cato" I say looking him in the eyes. "I can't, we cannot let our guard down" and I move from his arm and start pacing again. I know it hurt Cato, but he knew I was right. Clove stirs at 2 and wakes up Marvel. They take over for us.

"So I am surprise to see you and Cato not making out" she jokes. "I am not risking everyone else's lives because I was not doing my guard watch" I say to her. I walk up to Cato and we both settle on the ground. I cuddle up to him and say "love you". He kisses my forehead "love you too, we should get some sleep" he says. We settle in for a few hours of sleep. I am surprise when we are shook awake. It is Clove that wakes us.

I stand and stretch out my back. I smile at Cato. "Okay everyone, grab something to eat, we are heading out in ten minutes" he says.

I grab a granola bar and count my knives making sure I still have all ten. I smile knowing that I do, and our alliance still stands strong. "I will stay guard" Jason says. We all nod and head toward woods. I smile at Jason and walk to him. "I am glad we both made it so far" I tell him. He smiles down at me "I am too" he says.

We head out to the woods. We slow to a haunt in the clearing. We hear a cannon sound and I make the mental note, that is 13 dead. We head further into the woods. I stop suddenly and Glimmer runs full force into me. "What the hell, why did you stop" she asks bitterly?

"What if they got to Jason?" I asked suddenly. We all turn to each other. We decide to head back. I see Jason's bloody body and run to him. Cato tries to grab me, but I was too fast. I check for a pulse and know that the cannon sound was for him. I cry a little. "I should have stayed with him" I say quietly. I cry a little, but wipe them away. "I failed my fellow tribute" I say. I close his eye and remove the sword from his chest. I place it on the ground and hug him. "I will avenge you" I whisper. I close his eyes and cover the wound with his hands.

Cato pulls me to my feet. "We stay here in two's now" he says. He pulls me off from the group. "You okay?" he asks me quietly. I nodded looking at the ground. "Payson, he was from your district and I know you two were not close, but you can cry if you want. I will make sure the others do not see". I practically threw myself into his arms. I cried to a solid five minutes. The Hovercraft took away his body and I watch it fly away.

"Rest in peace Jason" I say kissing my three fingers and then raising three fingers to the Hovercraft. We returned to the group and waited for someone to come up with a plan of action. "It had to be an ambush" Clove says. "Jason was strong; no way the person was alone. There is another alliance at work" she says. We all nodded. We all were thinking of the same thing.

"I say we have two people stay here, and the rest go out hunting" Glimmer says. "I say we wait here and let the others come to us, or better yet let everyone else kill each other off" Marvel says to her.

Cato looks up at Clove. "I think waiting around is gonna kill us. I say we go with Glimmer's plan" he says. I looked at Marvel. "Marvel and I will stand watch" I say. Cato looks at me. "Are you sure?" he says. "Yes, you guys go, Marvel and I will watch the supplies" I say. Marvel nods in agreement. They all head out and Cato hugs me tight. "Run if you have to" he says. "Come back safely" I say to him. He nods and they all head into the woods.

Marvel and I stay looking at the woods. We hear a cannon sound about an hour later. I look at Marvel. "I am sure they are fine" Marvels says. I smile hoping he is right. "14 dead" I say to him. He nods in acknowledgement. "Only 9 more days til someone are crowned" he says. We hear a snap from the woods and both our heads snap toward the source of the noise.

Marvel looked to me and back to the woods. A bird flew out and we lowered out weapons. The bird landed next to us, on the Cornucopia. "O my god, it's a mockingjay" I say backing away from it. "A what" Marvel asked? "It's a mockingjay. They are repeating birds. They can repeat sound. They are a mutation of mocking birds and the jabber jays" I tell him. He nods and looks at the bird. I hold my hand out for the mockingjay to land on. It flaps it's wings and lands on my hand.

I sing a small four note song. The mockingjay picks up the tune and singing it back to me. I smile and the mockingjay flies off and lands in a tree near the edge of the woods. I hear the rest of the mockingjays pick up the song. I smile and look back at Marvel.

He smiles but we hear a snap close to us. I look back and pick up my knife. Out popped our alliance. I stopped and stood up. I counted and saw Glimmer, Cato, and Clove were all fine. I walked up to Cato. He hugged me close. "We killed the girl from eight" he said. I nodded. "I was worried that one of you…" I stopped. I could not say it. "No, we were fine" Cato said hugging me and then walking up to Marvel.

"Anything exciting happen here?"Clove asked us. "We saw a mockingjay" Marvel said. "What" all three of them said? I looked at all them. "None of you know what a mockingjay is? They are repeating birds. They can repeat sounds and tunes. They are a mutation of mocking birds and the jabber jays" I tell them. Clove gasped. "They are the sign of the rebellion" she tells me. "Yeah" I said. "The jabberjays were discovered by the rebellions and they fed them false information. When Capitol found out they sent the jabberjays away" I told them.

We all sat down and wait for a plan to formulate in our minds. "I say we stay put for now and let the others fight it out" Clove says. "Honestly, Capitol will force us to face each other if things stay boring for too long" she says. We all nod.

Cato and Marvel head to the woods to gather wood for the fire. We are not afraid to set a fire because all the tributes know we are hording all the supplies at the Cornucopia. Clove and I sit on the edge of the Cornucopia and talk about our families.

"I have a brother back home. His name is Adam and he is 19. He is amazing" she says. "My mom and dad both work in the computer center in town. I never saw them much. My brother practically raised me" she said. "How about your family" she asked me.

"My dad died three years ago. It nearly killed my mother. She is still mourning his death" I tell her. I look to Glimmer. "What about you Glimmer?" I ask. "None of your business" she says walking away. "Sorry I asked" I whisper to Clove laughing a little.

We started the fire once Cato and Marvel came back. We had matches so we did not need to rely only on the earth.

I heard a small four note song from the distance once our fire was made. I stared at the woods. Everyone else did not seem to notice. I brushed it off until a second mockingjay sang the same tune. I knew someone was trying to cover their footsteps by using the mockingjay songs. I grabbed my knife pack and Cato looked to me. I signaled him to stay where he was. Everyone seemed alert, but Cato whispered for everyone to act normal. I crouched down to the fire to pretend to cut some grass to add to the fire and there I saw it. The flicker of movement in the bushes, and Clove and I were after them in seconds.

I entered the woods area and instantly was chilled. I looked to Clove and we heard a twig snap and our eyes snap back to ahead of us, and we both took off after that source of sound. We were great hunting partners. We came upon a clearing in the middle of the woods. We saw the girl running at the other end. I could tell it was the girl from ten. She was small and running scared now. She probably just wanted to steal food from us, but ended up being caught.

I had to admit, using the mockingjays was a good strategy. Clove looked at me and threw a knife. The girl dropped to the ground. We waited for the cannon. It sounded in the distance. We both smiled at each other. We walked up to each other and walked back into the woods for concealment. I knew there had to be other tributes nearby. "15 dead" Clove said smiling, but I could hear some sadness in her voice. I could tell she did not like killing mercilessly.

"We should be careful going back, so it does not make 17" I said quietly. I sounded a tune for the mockingjays to pick up. We followed the mockingjays slowly back. I heard a sound and by the way Clove stopped and looked at me she heard it too.

It sounded like crackling. "Please tell me I am hearing things" Clove said. I looked at her and turned back behind us. "Nope, I am hearing it too" I said and we saw a man made fire starting to overtake the clearing behind us. "And it's moving fast" she said.

"Let's move. Capitol is clearing trying to make us turn on each other" I said to her as we ran like crazy through the woods. The fire seemed to moving at an unnatural pace.

"Clove…Payson" I heard Cato calling us from the distance. "Cato" I screamed. I see him as we approach him. He turns and smiles, however as I run by him I grab his hand.

"What the hell" he screams stumbling a bit as he runs to match my speed. "Capitol clearly is bored and they have a fire eating at the forest" I scream. He turned back to see a wave of fire devouring the forest. He was distracted and trips over a branch that suddenly pops up tripping him to the ground. I turn back and watch the branch chomp down on his leg. "What the hell?" he screams trying to pull his leg free. I stop in fear.

What do I do? I screamed in my mind. Clove stopped. I run back to him and start to try and cut through the branch. "Shit" he screams as it tightens. "Clove help" I scream. She is by my side in seconds cutting through the branch. "You two need to get out of here" he yells at us and screams out in pain again. "Never, I am not leaving you" I cry. I look back and see the fire gaining on us. Suddenly a hand grabs me and pulls me back. I am ready to fight, but see it is Marvel. He cuts through the branch with one swing of Cato's sword. We help him to his feet.

Clove and Marvel run ahead and I help Cato make his way through the woods. Clove and Marvel make sure that no tributes take advantage of our broken state. Cato seems to pull me down a few times because I can tell his ankle is most likely sprained. I start to feel the heat of the fire. "You are so close" I hear Glimmer yell; mostly to Cato I must believe. I can see the light from our clearing.

However, just as we get close the fire circles around us. "Payson, you need to leave me" he says falling to the ground and holding his ankle. "Never" I say looking for a route out. I start to panic and search frantically for an escape. Cato grabs my wrist. "Payson please get out of here" he says. I ignore him and find a path to safety. "Come on" I yell helping him up.

He struggles and cries in pain. I try to move slowly, but know we have to move fast before the opening closes. I can hear Clove screaming our names over the crackling fire. This fire was insane.

I push Cato through the opening just as the opening closes me off, enclosing me in the burning fire. "Payson" I hear Cato scream. I can see him through the fire and Marvel pulls him back and I see Clove looking at me in fear. I hear the mockingjay crying out from the trees.

"The Trees" I say out loud. I run to a tree that is not burning and climb up it. I run to the edge. I think to myself _this is either really smart or really stupid. _I jump and tumble down next to Cato and Clove. "Payson" the both scream. I let out a cry of pain as I hear my shoulder pops out of place.

I look up and slowly move up but fall back to the ground crying. "O my god" I scream in pain grabbing my shoulder in pain and turning onto my side. Cato moves to me and helps me sit up. I cry as I lean against him. I almost lost him back there. I looked up and see the fire die down. The forest goes back to the lush and green forest that was always there, as if the fire never happened. I hold my right arm in my left hand. I try to move but growl in pain because my shoulder moves. "Payson" Clove says helping me. "I am fine" I say walking to sit near the Cornucopia. I did not want to be near the forest. Marvel and Clove help Cato to sit next to me.

"You saved me" he says placing a hand on my knee. I smile and kiss his forehead. "I do not care what Capitol says nor does, I will never leave you" I say leaning against the Cornucopia.

Clove came up to my side and hands me some water. I look at Cato and then I scream in pain. Clove popped my shoulder back in pain. I buried my face in Cato's chest. He wrapped his arms around my body. We hear a beeping and a small silver parachute coming down to us. Clove walks over to it. It has a painted 2 on it. Inside has a bandage and pain killers. Clove gives them to Cato. "Give the pain killers to Payson" he says. I look up at him. "No, they are for you" I say. Glimmer was taking off Cato's shoe and looked at his ankle. It was a deep purple and blue and black. "O my god I think I am going to be sick" Glimmer says walking away from it. "Well, she is useful" Clove mumbles to me laughing. I laugh lightly with her.

Clove takes the bandage and some tree branches. She makes a cast for him and wraps it. She talks me to find some branches and tree leaves. "We have to make you a cast too" she says. "Clove, please look at me" I tell her.

She turns to me and I see her crying. I hug her with my good arm. "We are fine, you do not need to cry" I tell her smiling. "I almost lost you both" she says looking away. I place my good hand on her shoulder. "Capitol will not get rid of us that easily" I tell her joking. I try to ignore the pain in my arm. She turns back and walks me back to the group. She wraps my arm up so it is supported by my body. I look at Clove. "Cato is not going to be able to walk for at least a few days" I tell her nervously. "There are only 5 others out there besides our alliance" I tell her.

I can tell she read my mind. We were both worried about Marvel and Glimmer turning on us. "For now, we know that Marvel is still standing strong with us. He did come to save Cato from that branch" Clove reminds me. I nod and walk up to Marvel.

"Thank you for coming to find us" I say to him. "I owe you one" I tell him smiling. He nods to me and we all gather around our controlled fire that we started and maintained through the night.

Cato has not yet opened the pain killers. "Cato, you need to take one" I tell him. "Not unless you take one" he says. "Fine" I say holding my hand out to take one. He takes his and swallows. I smile and put mine back in the container. "Payson" he yelled at me. "Cato, they are yours not mine. I do not need it" I tell him. He grabs my bad arm very so slightly and I wince and cry lightly in pain. "I think you do" he says. I look at him and walk away to Clove. "Cato and Glimmer will take the first watch until 2. Marvel will take over after until 6, and then me and Clove will watch until 10 and wake everyone up. That way we always have someone strong standing watch" I tell her taking the leadership role.

We hear the anthem play and watch the dead tributes faces in the sky. I growl in anger as Jason's face appears and that District three is still alive. Slowly the sky grows black once more.

I walk over and find a nice spot and Marvel, Clove, and I all fall asleep. However, I really do not sleep because I am still in lots of pain. I happen to listen in on Cato and Glimmer's conversation.

"You know you are going to have to kill her sooner or later. I do not see why you are trying to give her your gift. You are going to need them later" Glimmer says.

"Well, it is because I love her. If it comes down to me and her, I will personally kill myself" Cato says. I hear Glimmer huff in anger. "She is not even pretty" Glimmer says and Cato laughs. "Jealous much Glimmer? For your information, she is the most beautiful girl in my eyes" Cato says. This causes me to smile and regret being bitter to him earlier. I just did not want to take away his life line. If he gave me his gifts his sponsors may stop helping him.

"Whatever" Glimmer says and I hear Cato sharpening his knife until Marvel stirs in his sleep to take over for his shift. "You guys get some sleep" he says. I feel Cato come up next to me and place his arm around me waist. My back was to him and I sit up and turn to him.

"Payson, I did not mean to wake you" he whispers. I kiss him lightly on the lips. "You really think I am beautiful" I ask him? He laughs lightly knowing I was listening to him and Glimmer talk. "You really need to get some sleep, and yes, I think you are the most beautiful girl to ever step foot on this planet" he says. I turn to him and try to get some sleep, however my arm is in so much pain that I get none.

Clove and I take over at 6 and Marvel falls asleep. Clove and me pace back and forth. "How's your arm" she asks me quietly? I turn to her and know there is more on her mind. "It is fine and what is on your mind?" I ask her.

"It's just that there are only 5 other tributes until it is just our alliance" she says sadly. I hug her. "We will be fine" I say to her and smile. We both know that it is likely that she, I, and Cato will turn on Glimmer and Marvel. We have not thought past that yet however.

Around 9 we are spooked by the cannon blast. Glimmer screams and Marvel and Cato sit up. They look at us and we shrug our shoulders, saying that we did not do anything.

"Probably someone died of the cold" I say. I slowly say 16 dead in my head. However, this is the only cannon shot that entire day. The picture of the boy from six flashes in the sky that night.

Days pass and no more cannon shots. Finally Cato is able to walk and I was able to move my arm. It was not one hundred percent, but it was enough to survive.

"I say we go hunting for some blood" Marvel says. I can tell he is getting testy. "He is right" I say. "If we do not kill someone soon, Capitol is going to pull another stunt" I say. "I say we all go in. We honestly do not need to protect the supplies anymore" Clove says. "If someone takes something then so be it. It is too dangerous to split up" she continues. We all nod in agreement as we head into the woods.

The morning passes slowly. We move in our small pack of five. Suddenly crows erupt from the sky. "Someone is hunting for food. They clearly shot at those crows. We are close to someone" says Marvel. We slowly approach the clearing and stay hidden among the three. In my head I try to calculate who the other 3 tributes are. I know that both the girl and boy from District three are left. I can beat they are sticking together until the end. But, I cannot figure out who the other is.

I see the boy from seven shot out of the clearing and drops down with an arrow from Glimmer in his chest. The cannon blow and that means 17 are dead. "Nice aim" Clove and I say to her. She smiles smugly.

We all head back to the Cornucopia and keep a close eye on the trees. "We know it is just us and 3 now" Cato says. We all stop and look at each other. We all smiled and continue to walk in silence. I can feel the tension between everyone. We know soon we will all turn on each other; it is just a matter of time.

We check the clearing and notice it is clear. Marvel and Cato step out then motion for us to follow. I think to myself. _Three knows where we are and that we are a big group. They have the advantage on us. _I suddenly listen to the stillness of the arena. No mockingjays.

I turned to look at the trees and see a shine. "Move" I scream and everyone moves suddenly as an arrow is shot at us. "In the tree" I scream. We all look back out of shooting distance against the Cornucopia. The trees remain still and silent. We know that whoever fired upon us is still there, concealed in the trees.

Suddenly the girl from three charges us from the woods. "She is going to sacrifice herself" Clove yells making sure we pay attention to the tree that still has the hidden tribute, who has to be the boy from three.

Clove steps forward and throws a knife cutting throw her arms. However, Marvel steps forward and throws the spear through the girl from three's body. He smiles and I run to push him out of the way. An arrow just misses us, landing in the ground. "I guess you finally paid me back" he says jokingly. We get up and Glimmer shots back into the trees. However, another arrow is shot down and hits directly into Cloves chest. My world stops and spins slowly as she drops to the ground screaming.

I see the boy drop from the trees and take off into the woods. No one moves to follow him. I run to Clove and stare down at her. I see Cato drop to her side as well. She cries in pain as Cato pulls the arrow out. I notice I am crying hard. "You can't die" I cry. "You are my best friend" I say sobbing. She smiles at me. "Find a way to stay with Cato. You deserve each other. Cato make sure you tell my family I love them" She says. She looks up at the sky. "At least I am free of Capitol" she says. I hear the cannon sound and notice her chest has stopped moving up and down. She was gone forever. I sob loudly. Hugging her cold and unmoving body. Cato slowly closes her eye. "Rest in peace Clove" he says crying as well. I move her hands to cover the wound and grab flowers from the Cornucopia. I place them in her hands. "Clove I hope you find peace" I say. I kiss my three fingers and lift them to the sky honoring Clove.

We hear the hovercraft come, and I make no moves to run. Cato grabs me and pulls me away. I move away and cry as I see her body lifted into the sky. I scream out as it leaves with the girl from 3 and my best friend from District 2.

"No, I hate Capitol. They ruin everything. They take away everyone" I screamed. Cato hugs me close and kisses my head. I hug his body tight to mine. However, we hear another cannon sound and turn to see Marvel dropping to the ground motionless. Glimmer smiles and takes off into the woods. "She just attacked the boy from her own District" I said in astonishment. I run to remove the arrow from his chest. "That bitch is going to get it" I say. I honor Marvel just as I did Clove and Jason. We hid behind the Cornucopia and watch Marvel's body taken from the arena. I look to Cato.


	15. Chapter 15

"We need to take what we need from here. Then we blow it up" I say to him. "Are you crazy" he says to me. "Cato, think about it, Glimmer knows where we are and that here the supplies are. We blow up the extra supplies and take to the woods. She and the boy from 3 know we are sitting ducks here, and we do not want them getting the supplies" I response with him.

He nods in agreement. We quickly take two bags, one each, and stuff it with what we need. I take food and a blanket, matches, and 3 bundles of knives" Cato grabs his pain killers, bandage, food, and a blanket as well. He also grabs two bottles of water and purifying solution. He fills them up with the fresh water and we set the rest of the supplies on fire and watch it all burn. After it burns we notice the fire stops. Capitol does not want this fire to spread. Clearly they want to final three deaths to be bloody. We smile at each other and head to the woods.

As we enter to woods, I feel Cato staying within steps of me. I must be shaking because he come up to me and holds my hands. I smile at him and think that Capitol must be loving us being lovers in this arena. We are dead stopped in the woods. We turn to each other. I smile, but Cato's smile seems forced. I can see the tension in his eyes. I can tell he is worried about having left our safe haven. I lean up to give him a quick kiss on the lips. He smiled and hugs me but is searching for Glimmer and the boy from three. "Let's keep moving" he says pulling me close behind him. As we move through the woods, anytime there is a twig snap, Cato pulls me behind him. Usually it is bird. We come upon a cave. "That looks safe" he says. He pulls me close behind me.

He enters the small cave and makes sure it is safe. I follow him in and we settle down. We create a covering over the cave mouth with leaves and rocks. We leave small holes near the bottom so we can see out. He settles down and pulls me close to him and cuddles me close to him. He seems distant to me. I rest my head on his shoulder and turn to kiss his neck. He breaks his trance and laughs at me quietly. He slowly and softly pushes me to the ground and crawls over me and starts kissing me on the neck and then the check and finally my mouth. We make out and my hand travels up his shirt but I am shaken from his perfect moment by a cannon. I stop and shake a little.

He sits up and pulls me close to him. We wait in silence and I feel myself shaking. Cato pulled me closer and hugs me and rubs my arms with his hands. We wait for the rest of the night until we hear the anthem. We both look at each other and crawl to the entrance. We peak through the holes and watch the night sky light up. We see Glimmer's face and then it disappears moments later. We crawl back to where we sat earlier. Cato hugs me close. "She should not have turned on Marvel so quickly. He probably could have saved her" Cato says to me. He leans down and kissed me lightly and tells me to get some sleep. "As long as you get some sleep, and promise you will be here in the morning" I say. "I will" he promises pulling me in under the blanket. I rested my head on his chest. His hands rested on my hips and I was happy for the time being.

We woke in the morning, and know we have to get hunting for the boy for three. We eat a few things and pack up. We share a long kiss and head out of our cave. I pull a bundle of knifes and strap them to my pant leg. Cato steps out first and soon we are both on the move. We travel back toward to Cornucopia. Eventually that is where Capitol will lead us.

We walk quietly, but we stop when the sky grows dark suddenly. I look to Cato. "Clearly Capitol is playing with the arena" I say. He nods and holds a hand out of me. I take it and he pulls me close and wraps this arm around my shoulder.

"Aww would you look at the love?" we hear suddenly. We see the boy from three emerge from behind some trees swinging a sword. Cato pushes me behind him and I let him. This boy truly scares me, but I pull a knife out just in case Cato needs back up. They step at each other, but stop at a sudden noise. We all look at each other as a mutt about 6 feet tall steps toward us from the bushes.

Cato steps back as the mutt growls. He takes hold on my hand and he whispers "run" to me. In seconds of the words leaving his lips, we take off in a sprint to the Cornucopia. The boy from three is close behind us. "What the hell" he screams in fear dropping his sword to run faster. I keep a mental note; he probably has another weapon concealed on him or he really is an idiot. We come into the clearing and Cato pulls me to the Cornucopia. He throws his sword on top of the Cornucopia and puts his right hand in his left. He motions for me to climb up. I see the boy from three run to the other side of the Cornucopia. I step into his hand and he pushes me up. I turn to him and put my hand out to him. "Hurry Cato" I cry. I hear the boy from 3 struggling to get up on the other side. Cato reaches for my hand and he maneuvers up. I hug him tight as we see the mutt get closer. However, I feel someone grab my hair and pull me back from Cato.

I see Cato move like lighting and his sword is in his hands. I go to reach for a knife, but the boy moves quickly and rips them from my leg and throws them over the edge, but he kept on in his hand. He places one against my neck. "So Romeo, what do you say I kill your girl? I know you said you would be nothing without her. I would be killing both you by killing this princess" he said pulling my hair harder. I move my arms to try to break his hold on my neck. Cato was shaking in anger and I try hard to pull his arms lose, but get nowhere.

The boy turns me to face him. "Or should I kill Romeo over there and then deal with you last" he asked running the knife along my face. Suddenly his lips were on mine and I try to break free but he is strong. I hear a growl and the boy breaks from me and we see the mutt finally made its way up to the top of the Cornucopia. The boy pushes me to the ground and I see Cato jump over me and run his sword through the boy. He pushes the body off the Cornucopia and I hear the boy's body thump to the ground. I hear a cannon sound. My vision blurs through tears.

Cato helps me to my feet and pulls me into his side. He keeps his sword pointed at the mutt. Suddenly the mutt starts to transform. I pull the bundle of knifes from my backpack and take a knife into my hand. Cato places two hands on his sword handle.

Slowly the mutt takes form. I lower my knife once and stand up straight. I see what it became. "It... its Marvel" I said shaking and strutting a bit. "No Payson, it's a trick. It's a mutt Capitol is playing with." He screams at me. Still I cannot seem to bring myself to hurt this mutt that took shape of someone who I cared for.

"And he is not alone" I cried to Cato as a mutt Glimmer laughs wickedly landing next to mutt Marvel. I turn around and see a mutt Clove and gasp.

"Cato" I say as he turns around and is just as surprised. We both are closed in on and suddenly a mutt Jason grabs onto Cato choking him. I step toward Cato who is struggling for air, but Glimmer mutt tackles me. I run a knife through her heart and the mutt screams and turns to dust. I throw the knife through Marvel and watch him turn to dust. "Sorry" I say running at Jason and Cato. However, I am rammed back into the Cornucopia metal by mutt Clove. She growled hard at me.

I heard Cato scream and see Jason mutt turn to dust. "Payson kill her" he yelled running toward me. "I can't" I cry as I push her off me. Cato runs his sword through her as she is off balance and she turns to dust. I am now fully crying on the ground. "How dear they" I screamed. Cato runs to me, drops his sword, and helps to me to my feet. I hug him. "I could not do it, I just couldn't" I cry. I let him pull me close and he hugs me back. "Shh, it's okay Payson, they are gone for now" he says pulling me back to look me in the eyes.

"But, Capitol will send them back if one of us does not die" he says. I pick up my knives and back away from him. I lift one knife up and stare into his eyes. I throw it…

I throw my knife off the Cornucopia and then the rest of the knives as well. I take off my backpack and throw that to the ground as well. "I will not kill you Cato" I say to him. "I love you" I scream at him as tears begin to run down my face again. "You will have to kill me" I sob. He picks up his sword to points it at himself. "I love you too much to hurt you Payson. I will kill myself" he says. I charge him and wrestle the sword from his hands and throw it to the ground. I end up right on top of him and kissing his hard and I can taste salt on my lips. Cato pulls away and softly pushes me back so he can sit up with me in front of him. He wipes the tears away. "I can't live without you. If you kill yourself, I will kill myself" I sob and he pulls my head to rest on his chest. His other hand rests lightly on my back.

Suddenly an idea ponders into my head. "Cato, do you trust me?" I ask him. He nods "of course I trust you". I smile, stand up, and help him to his feet. "Follow me" I say jumping to the ground. I hear him land right next to me. "What are we doing Payson" he asks? I smile and hand him his sword and I pick up a knife. "We kill each other" I say.

"Are you insane" he screams. "Payson, I know that trick, you are going to stop and let me kill you and I am going to be alone" he cries. I shake my head no. "No Cato, don't you trust me?" I asked once more. He nods. "Okay, so let's do it. On the count of three you run your sword through me and I will run my knife through you" I say. He nods. "Okay, one…" he says raising his sword. "Two" I say lifting my knife.

The skies clear suddenly "WAIT" we hear the voice cry in the sky. We both look to the sky. "Ladies and Gentlemen may I present the victors of the 74th annual Hunger Games. The star crossed lovers of District two and four" we hear.

I drop my knife and jump into Cato's arms. He drops his sword and hugs me tight to his body as we kiss like there is no tomorrow. A hovercraft lands and we see our mentors walking toward us. I hug Finnick and he hugs me back. He pulls Cato in for a hug as well. Cato's mentor is a tall man and he smiles lightly at me. "Congrats to the two lovers" he says. I turn back to Cato and hug him tight never wanting to let go.

**-A sequel will soon follow. Thanks for reading!**


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